Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Transport the principle means by which he will make public transport more accessible for persons with disabilities; the measures he proposes for those who can not access existing public transport services, but may require more specialist transport services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12146/07]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005, titled 'Transport Access for All', has been finalised and published. The Plan addresses the accessibility needs of people with mobility, sensory and cognitive impairments across all transport modes and contains time bound targets for the progressive realisation of accessible transport in Ireland. In general, the timescales for the various elements of the Plan are expected to be completed within the timeframe of Transport 21. The Plan was prepared following an extensive consultation exercise involving meetings and discussions with transport providers together with a wide range of groups in the disability sector. It was passed by the Oireachtas in October 2006 enabling it to take effect.

Measures to implement 'Transport Access for All' are already well advanced. Since the year 2000, all major refurbishment projects at bus and rail stations, together with the construction of new stations and the purchase of trains or buses take account of the needs of people with mobility and sensory impairments. Work in this area is now being extended to taxis as well as air and marine passenger transport.

Significant resources for accessibility are being provided under Transport 21 to facilitate further progress. Accessibility is being built into new public transport infrastructure projects and funding is also being provided to continue the phased retrofit of existing infrastructure. Transport 21 has been endorsed by the recently published National Development Plan 2007-2013.

Unfortunately, some people, because of the nature of their disabilities, will not be able to travel on public transport. In such cases, specialised non-public transport door-to-door services are the most appropriate complementary form of transport. Such services are generally provided by specialist agencies which do not form part of the public transport sector for which my Department has statutory responsibility.